Cherry Sauce

Cherry Sauce

Summer is the season for ice cream. Actually, I do love ice cream year round, but the heat of the summer seems to increase my ice cream craving.

As a general rule, I tend to eat my ice cream without toppings. It is not that I am opposed to eating the toppings, but my preference is for homemade toppings and my desire for ice cream usually does not allow for time to fix a topping.

I had friends over July 4th. One of the desserts I baked was my Red White & Blue Pie, the white coming from vanilla ice cream. As I was planning the menu I thought that it would be lovely to also offer guests the option of vanilla ice cream with a topping.

Cherries are in season now so I decided it would be fun to make a cherry topping. I had never made one before, but what was the worst thing that could happen? I am relieved that the answer remains a mystery.

I eliminated the idea of flambéing the cherries. I am really not that coordinated and I like my eyelashes, eyebrows and hair. I spared my friends from viewing their own personal fire show in the kitchen.

Instead, I cooked the cherries with sugar, water, cornstarch and a bit of cognac until the mixture was a bit thick and until the brandy cooked off.

I served the cherry sauce hot off the stove. It was fun spooning it over the ice cream and watching the ice cream melt. It did present me with a dilemma, however; I needed to take pictures for the blog but I really wanted to scoop up the entire bowl and dive right in.

The next day I decided to give the sauce a try right from the fridge. Happily, it is just as delicious cold or hot, which makes this a perfect ice cream topper for those of us who immediately need our ice cream fix.